Render?

Yes, @Sian is onto something. Rendering smooths out all they rough edges and you can paint or leave it rough and add a colour to the render mix.

Hi Terniko

Once the wall is rendered, use that lovely magnolia print to select a colour - pink is very IN this year. It would add warmth and lightness as well as coordination.

I love a more washed out feel - looks great! What colour were your bricks originally?

Thank you. I'm not 100% sure, they were painted a solid cream when we moved in, which I didn't like. Looking closely at the brick though, there's quite a lot of dark through it, so I don't think it would be far off the colour of your bricks.

Teniko, I would embrace the bricks & add some mid century touches to complement the bricks

Mazarita, I would add feature pendant lights to tie the ceiling to the rest of the room

Coming from an earthquake prone area, I cringe at the damage these could cause to property and people. My suggestion is to get rid of the bricks and put up a Gibbed timber framed wall but then, safety in an earthquake may not be an issue where you live.

You can always build a thin timber frame then gyprock it. That also will give you a small cavity if you would like the run any electricity behind the wall for lighting etc

I like the brick, actually. It's got some warmth. Re the dining room, I'd be inclined to put up a colorful painting or three where the mirror and metalwork are. They're both attractive but not very colorful and I think the room needs a bit of pizzazz.

The brick looks great. Shame to hide them as they add a look so good. If they were an awfully laid wall or just a standard cheap brick then hide it but these are quite good looking! Remember face brick adds a real texture to rooms (and external for that matter) when its not excessive.

Feature brick is in vogue and its not a lot, not overbearing at all. The dining area does need livening up. The ceiling looks high so draw attention to it. The triangle part can either be coloured or use timber panneling. Bit hard when you cant see the whole room but move the mirror under it to make the room look longer. Then a colorful print (or 3) on the wall the mirror is currently on. Good luck.

If the brick is a functioning chimney I would leave it other wise a rough render could work. One of the issues is that the nearby features such as the light and painting clash. As in the dining room, try a large mirror and a big photo e.g. to link it all. Also good rugs with strong reds, browns, oranges would help co-ordinate the rooms at low expense. I would try a colourful Moroccon style rug near the brick feature before attempting a major fix.

limewash over render

We have a huge brick wall - double sided separating areas. In our formal area I had their wall rendered and we painted and it looks great. Still have the brick on the other side - but working on getting rid of it - I am not a big fan as it is the same brick as outside of house and ours doesn't get a lot of light inside so makes it look dark.

Hard to see the walls in context of the whole room, but if proportions ok you could make it a feature and put some timber furniture or similar to balance out. Otherwise very easy to plasterboard over. House below we deliberately added brick and timber to give more industrial look.

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I have the same issue with a tall fireplace with 14ft ceilings. Someone suggested tiling it which I am considering. White wash would be my other choice.

Sheetrock over them.